Reviews (page 7 of 8)
smooth, classic
Just so boring dude
Meh. Yawn-a-mundo.
Tarinan kertomiseks jäi, musiikki puuttui.
Oh boy. Have we found the male equivalent to Joni Mitchell? I’ve heard of James Taylor and I get that he’s an important piece to the Musial history formula but again, this may be the equivalent to Joni Mitchell and if you have been following me, you’d know that it’s an instant boner killer when I hear something like Joni Mitchell. You know what? Fuck it. I’m tired of correcting my spelling and grammar mistakes on this app. No more for this review. Sorry. It’s so irritating . I do really like the recording quality. You can hear the fine tune of each instrument. I mean, mostly guitar but still. It’s actually taking away from the dryness of the songs I’m hearing.
I get why people would like this but I don’t like it for many reasons. Fire and rain is the sound he was looking for
Only two good songs. The rest of it kinda sucks.
Giving moms a bad name since 1970
Really liked some of the lyrics but why does this sound like it was made by ceebeebies
I've softened a great deal on some of the more easy listening/soft rock type stuff over the years, but not James Taylor. I'm not saying I'd punch somebody who put this album on in the face, but I'd probably have to go for a walk.
This album is often hailed as a cornerstone of the singer-songwriter movement, and it’s got some big name musicians contributing, which adds to its reputation. That said, I don’t quite get why it’s held in such high regard. To me, it feels like the most standard, run of the mill example of singer-songwriter music. It’s pretty plain and unremarkable. At least it’s only about 30 minutes long, because if it had gone on any longer, I would have lost my mind, and gone crazy out of boredom.
Sweet 8.5oz baby jesus. 3/10
Pleasant, easy, totally boring with no edge
Sweet Baby James James Taylor 1970 Genres: Rock, Folk Styles: Singer Songwriter, Folk Rock, Soft Rock, Acoustic 1. Sweet Baby James (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Una mezcla entre canción de cuna y balada del Oeste escrita para su sobrino recién nacido, James. También funciona como un autorretrato de Taylor: un viajero solitario que encuentra consuelo en los sueños y en el camino. 2. Lo and Behold (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Un tema optimista sobre viajar, descubrir nuevos lugares y mantener la esperanza de encontrar un destino mejor. Transmite una sensación de libertad y movimiento constante. 3. Sunny Skies (★★⯨☆☆) - Contexto: Habla de intentar conservar el optimismo a pesar de las dificultades emocionales. Bajo su melodía luminosa esconde una mirada melancólica sobre los altibajos de la vida. 4. Steamroller Blues (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Una parodia de los clichés del blues tradicional. Exagera deliberadamente el dramatismo y las metáforas típicas del género con un tono entre humorístico y poderoso. 5. Country Road (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Expresa el deseo de abandonar el estrés de la ciudad y volver a una vida sencilla, tranquila y en contacto con la naturaleza. Es un himno a la libertad y al hogar. 6. Oh, Susanna (★★☆☆☆) - Contexto: Versión íntima y relajada del clásico estadounidense de Stephen Foster, reinterpretado con el estilo cálido y acústico característico de James Taylor. 7. Fire and Rain (★★★★☆) - Contexto: Su canción más emblemática. Reflexiona sobre el suicidio de una amiga, sus problemas de salud mental, la adicción y las dificultades que atravesó al comenzar su carrera. Es una obra sobre el duelo, el dolor y la esperanza. 8. Blossom (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Una canción de apoyo y consuelo dirigida a alguien que atraviesa momentos difíciles. Promete permanecer presente incluso cuando todo parece ir mal. 9. Anywhere Like Heaven (★★☆☆☆) - Contexto: Evoca la nostalgia por la infancia y la inocencia perdida, recordando paisajes, personas y momentos felices con un tono cálido y contemplativo. 10. Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me (★★☆☆☆) - Contexto: Breve tema de humor con influencia country y honky-tonk sobre discusiones y pequeños conflictos dentro de una relación amorosa. 11. Suite for 20 G (★★★☆☆) - Contexto: Pieza construida uniendo varias composiciones incompletas para terminar el álbum. El resultado recorre distintos estados de ánimo y habla de incertidumbre, búsqueda espiritual y del intento de encontrar un rumbo en la vida. -TOTAL = ★★⯨☆☆ (2,73)
11 songs Safe, bland, sounds how wet bread tastes. Its only quality is that it's quite short.
could have done without the ‘shoot you full of rhythm and blues’ don’t know if that’s exactly the line because I’m not going back to check ! This was sweet (baby James) lol - I suppose … but meh? Not really a fan
Somehow both extremely bland and cloyingly sweet at the same time
Meh. I love singer/songwriter and I know this album is considered the gold standard but it's just okay for me. I'll take any Neil Young album over this. Fire and Rain is a standout tho
Sounded like a low-budget karaoke version of itself, at times sung by kermit and at others by robbie williams
Gtfo
Listening session: july 12th, while chilling at home Listened to before: no Thoughts: not necessarily bad, but just boring and not something that I would consider one of the best albums of all time Favourite tracks: Fire and Rain & Blossom
Yeah this was a pretty bad album. Most of it was just bad country, and like his voice was very annoying for most of it. But I rate it a 2 because I liked sweet baby James and sunny skies. Other than those 2 songs a pretty bad album
This i pleasant enough for background noise. If Im going to invest in to fully listening to this it’s a a bit of a snore.
Probably more closer to a 2.5, but a fine album.
It's ok
No fav song
I don’t mind this as folk/country music goes. I think it’s safe to say that it’s not rock music and the genre matching has gone a bit off grid here. I have a sensitive gag reflex when it comes to country music with their long-told tales of toiling on the plains with their horse and cattle and the first song on this album is a colour by numbers of that trope. The rest is similar, but manages to claw its way out of the bear trap of country music tropes. It’s still walking on one leg with blood gushing from a stump that was its other leg, but impending death means it focussed on the music more, to its credit.(I’m rewatching the walking dead as I listen to this at the moment. It may be having an influence on my review).
I dunno man, this doesn't do it for me. The smooth singer-songwriter stuff is fine, if anodyne, and washes right over me, but the blues stuff is jarring to me in a way that pulls me out of something I don't even really pay attention to anyway. Apparently I'm A Steamroller was a piss-take? I don't care, it still sucks. Drags down an otherwise smooth brain listening experience. I'll pass.
A man mutters the words listlessly to the accompaniment of dreary music
I used to passively like James Taylor. Having not sat down and listened to him in twenty years has really, really changed my opinion
Quirky, folksy album that never really caught my interest.
Not my vibe
White bread!
Wednesday, 3 June, 2026 Eh.
Way too soft and treacly for me. “Fire and Rain” is a classic of course but everything else? I don’t have the patience for this kind of blandness. I need bite.
I was in my early teens when this album came out, with a majority of listeners being female. I’m certainly not a fan, I think most of his work is overly sentimental and simplistic. I do however enjoy the title song and the song Fire and Rain is his best work. However, Steamroller Blues reminds me why pop singer songwriters should never sing the blues.
Not bad Fav track: Fire and Rain
fav song: sweet baby james safe, mellow, polished 40/100
If I was sitting by the fire and loving Jesus, this would be perfect. Fire and Rain being the biggest hit pretty much sums up this album. That blues song Steamroller was pathetic. Gimme Nick Drake for easy listening over this.
It was alright, I enjoy the big songs. A tad boring but moves quickly. Rating: 2.3
After 10 tracks of the same stuff I think the producer asked him to do something different. And he listened to this tip! Suite For 20 G is a good track. Why doesn't sound 75% of the album like this track? If so I would gave it more stars. Now: 2/5
country classics
Boooo
Mid
yawnnnnnnn. steamroller blues is kinda nice and so is oh, susannah, but i feel Nothing listening to fire & rain. why are the strings there? why are the drum fills so loud? i was gonna say i can't hate him too much cause he wrote These Days but that was actually Jackson Browne. #IFeltNothing
i'm gonna fucking kill myself. fuck. same stuff mentioned prior. minus amish stuff. + the fred neil stuff + the "simple desultory" stuff (except steamroller sounds sick) + the fleshing out issues of "parsley sage" + "why is the best song at the end" of hms fable. there's only so many times/ways i can say the same thing. alternatively (to quote the Original 'oh susanna'): "Dis darkie'l surely die." don't worry. you can save me by slaughtering jann wenner. make it painful. 2.5-3.2.
folky. jesus. chill.
Bland
Kinda uneven. When it's good, it's really good. But then a grown ass man has us listening to Oh Susannah.
I hate the guy's voice. It's like he's trying to annoy me with his positivity.
nice and passive
The most unconvincing steam roller/cement mixer/napalm bomb ever. Great craft, terribly dull, not for me.
Didn't really hit with me - nothing wrong with it but not an album. I'll go back to. (2 seems a low score but I've scored albums I've enjoyed more a 3)
zijn lyrics en stem komen niet echt overeen. Te zachtaardig.
Not the worst of the white-guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar genre…
I bet if I listened to this on a road trip I’d like it more. Fire & Rain is an all-timer folk song. Also the album title made me laugh
It’s fine not really my THING Insane album title
Sweet Baby Jesus.. Es Album wo de ersti Satz "there was a young cowboy, lives on the range" isch, het bi mir scho verlore. bin immer wider überrascht, wie sehr ich country wükli scheisse find. git ned meh wie 2 sweet baby Timons
Better sound than expected: big, clean 70s vinyl. Swap out a few lyrics and this sounds like a great toddler sing along album
2.0 - Weak, only gets a 2 because Fire and Rain is a legit classic
I found his voice quite whiney so this was astruggle.
I don’t think I know who James Taylor is truly, but in a weird way, he looks like Bundy. I think that added to my discomfort, which is rather unfortunate for him.
I feel like this is one of the most faceless or unoriginal albums on the list. The country songs are bad, but that's just because of the genre - James is OK at performing them. The American folk songs are aimless and forgettable, but that's just because of the genre - James feels half asleep performing them. The blues songs are great, but that's just because of the genre - James is finally awake while performing them. Even the artist's name and album cover are completely replaceable without anyone noticing. That being said, I did like the blues on this. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing
I was looking forward to listening to this - I fully expected to find myself bathed in that glorious, sun-drenched, Laurel Canyon, singer-songwriter vibe that I'm so partial to... but... meh. Fire and Rain is a classic but it's literally the only one here that caught my attention. The rest just sounded very dry and a little trite - singer-songwritier-by-numbers - even though I know he was at the forefront of that whole scene. It was done better elsewhere by JT and his peers.
Yes, it's all very sweet, perhaps even cloying, just a bit too much all in one go.
I've never listened to James Taylor, but I associated him with Jackson Browne, who I've not listened to much but whose album Late for the Sky (and whose song These Days, particularly the Nico version) I like quite a bit. This album at least I found to be some saccharine, unconvincing bullshit. He tries various styles – countryish, gospel, blues, folk – none of which succeed. A mercifully short 31 minutes. Two-Lane Blacktop is a good road movie in the late 60s/early 70s crop of Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Zabriskie Point etc., but it's been a few years since I watched it and James Taylor's performance doesn't stick in my mind when I think of that movie. I think of Warren Oates' line: "If I'm not grounded pretty soon, I'm gonna go into orbit".
Muy tranqui
Forgot about most of this as I was listening to it :( Way more Jesus-y than I was expecting! The extra star is literally just for Fire And Rain (although Steamroller Blues got really close to canceling that out).
Background music but I was sort of actively disinterested, so it's kind of a 2.5/5. Rounding down because I was told it was serial killer music. 2/5.
soor van ultra light neil young.. verdwijnt rap op de achtergrond
Never heard of this before. I read the description of folk rock singer songwriter, so thought it might be alright, but no. Too country for me.
Didn't seem remarkable to me.
Fire and Rain is a classic. Not a fan of much else here.
Steamroller is a fun song!, some songs are very religious like lo and behold and some are like a fun jingle like sunny skies
All the songs sound the same, and thats not necessarily a good thing
Not really a fan of this one. Not bad, just not my thing. 2/5
Bien pero no es pa mi
Ugh, this one was mostly a struggle. I really don’t care to hear about Jesus in music, especially bland ass music like this, so I ended up hitting skip on a couple tracks. A couple decent songs, but the rest was meh.
This kind of soft rock 70s stuff feels really shmaltzy and tries so hard to be “easy listening ” that it’s a really tough listen
Liked: Sunny Skies, Anywhere like Heaven, Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me
Top Songs: Fire and Rain
Ikke lige mig. Noget af det lidt for kedeligt. Noget af det lidt for funky. Også lidt bedaget lyd.
meh
A bit meh, very nice sounding but kinda dull, not doing it for me
Boring
3/10
Hmm, very "spiritual".
Sweet Baby James - 3.5/5 Lo and Behold - 2/5 Sunny Skies - 2/5 Steamroller - 1.5/5 Country Road - 3/5 Oh Susannah - 2.5/5 Fire and Rain - 3.5/5 Blossom - 3/5 Anywhere Like Heaven - 3/5 Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me - 2.5/5 Suite for 20 G - 3/5 I can't rate an album highly if you compare boinking your significant other as if you were a steamroller. This could definitely placate anyone born before the 1960's. For me it's just perfectly cromulent. Overall: 2.5/5 Favorites: Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain
Это не плохая музыка, просто не моя подача. Альбом топчется на месте, лишь в конце выдавая какую-то структуру.
Oh my gawd he does yacht blues too?
I'm sure that James Taylor is a good songwriter. But I simply don't like this kind of music. This is fine to listen to in the background when you don't really hear it. But not for concentrated listening.
..
Lullabies for the Gatsbys. So well performed and meticulously recorded, so beige. It's like taking a master craftsman and having him roll white paint on ceilings.
I guess this is fine for what it is, but it's not really for me.
:) baby music. Prefer Carole King
Nie dla mnie totalnie, nie mój styl- coś Ala country jeśli nie country
This is how I learn he was actually a former president.
if im killed and i will oh please please raise a stone and ascribe all of these lonely word "fuck this shit"
I only liked the bluesy songs
Not bad, however extremely boring
James Taylor has a wonderful voice and I’m grateful to him for the inspiration he must have offered Michael Stipe (and, I suppose James Blunt – begrudgingly, if the price of James Blunt existing in the public eye is his music, I’ll pay it). There are moments in this record – “Blossom”, or the bridge of “Suite for 20 G” (a song that manages to be pretty much all bridge) – where I’m transported by the sheer quality of what’s happening. The professionalism of it. But ultimately, it’s background stuff. The most backgroundy background stuff ever put to record, very perhaps.
It’s a’ight. Saved 2-3 songs; once is enough with the rest.
I thought I would like this album since Fire and Rain is so iconic, and Sweet Baby James is a lovely song. But no, I cannot stomach a whole album of James Taylor.
Clearly has talent, but other than the occasional standout, not really appealing to me.
I think this is perfectly fine but its very generic and uses very standard formulas for the songs which just cause fatigue whilst listening.
Almost offensively fine
Not bad, too slow
This was a difficult one to rate, as I didn't love it but also can recognize it's very good at what it's trying to be. Overall I'd say not my cup of tea but can totally understand others loving it.
All his songs sound the same to me. (fire and rain is a classic though.)
He’s got talent. Nice guitar playing. Pretty songs. I’m just not very interested.
Really dull
Meh, bland middle-of-the-road pap. And WTF was that Steamroller of Love song?
Kind of boring. Steamroller and Suite for 20 G were decent.
I don't feel like I could trust someone who chooses to play this album.
Not a bad album, just not my genre. But very boring 1,5/5
I like the title track but the rest is a bit dull.
I’m sure most music has a place in this world but I’m not sure where this belongs. Certainly not in my world!
Very limited instrumentation and what there was, was pretty dull. His voice is good but the songs were not.
This feels like what chat GPT would come up with if you asked it for some saccharine sweet country, blues, rock, easy listening Americana. There’s no denying he’s got a lovely voice and it all feels very chilled and wholesome, and no doubt you could take him home to meet your Mum. There’s also no denying that it’s just too lame for me.
James Taylor is one of those artists that a lot of people either love or hate. I am kinda ambivalent about him. What I do know is that this album doesn't have "Chili Dog" on it and therefore loses a star. If you're going to have a song about hotdogs that must be on every fuckin album.
Chilled country, easy listen. Bit bland overall with a couple of hits. 2.5/5
He's just not for me. Too syrupy. As I searched for it (I don't own it) I noticed one site listing his genre: folk, children’s music. I'm sure he’s not actually considered children’s music by anyone irl, but it still made sense to me. A bit like Graham Nash (even his CSNY stuff!), I can’t take it seriously as a grown up cos it’s just too…idk…wet? I gave it a fair listen and I’m sure I’m overlooking lots of nuance, but I'll not be swinging by “poor old loving man JT”’s way anytime soon. Offensively inoffensive.
Ehhhhh... none of this is particularly bad but it's very inoffensive and bland. I don't mind some soft pop music but this doesn't have anything to get me hooked. Pretty forgettable.
Nope
Correct, sans plus
[MichaelScottyellingNO.gif]
grew up listening to James Taylor because my mom loves his music, but I have never really liked it. So nasally, kinda whiney, not pleasant for me in life experiencing
Boooooooooooring. But inoffensive
Taylor's voice is too smooth for my liking. Overall this is bland and forgettable.
Ouais bof, j'ai déjà écouté mieux en country. Jesus Jesus Jesus mama Jesus lonely cowboy ok la flemme. J'ai bien aimé Blossom quand même.
Not my thing
some of the acoustic parts played on the bass strings sound good. some nice steel guitar. smug. bland. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
Vilken röst! Men vilka tråkiga låtar!
Kändes rätt oinspirerat och sömnigt.
Unfortunately did nothing for me - not to say it wasn't good, just not my speed at all.
Nesten en 3er, litt tam
Meh
This album answered so many questions for me. Unfortunately they were questions like 'What if John Denver had been heavily into sleeping pills?' or 'What if Nick Drake had much more confidence, but much less talent?'. Not for me.
This was okay. 2 stars. I do like the sound of the acoustic guitar. I didn't think I'd know any of his songs, but I have definitely heard Fire and Rain.
not for me. steamroller made me intensely uncomfortable keep your cement to yourself creep
Didint like. boring. whatever. who cares
Way too saccharine for my tastes.
The folks songs are fine, but the "blues" songs are peak cringe. I can't think of anyone further from being, "A churning urn of burning funk" than James Taylor. I just don't really understand the point of this type of homogenized third person story music.
I was forced to listen to a fair amount of James Taylor as a child, and never enjoyed it, and this album did not change my mind. The best parts of the album merely reach forgettable and inoffensive, and on the whole it sounds like a cross between Raffi and Neil Young (who, to be clear, I do like). Sunny Skies and Blossom are straight up Raffi, and the only way I can try and process Steamroller is as satire. I can’t imagine anyone being able to unironically enjoy hearing James Taylor, who sounds like if Mr. Rogers decided to quit TV and embark on a folk music career, sing that he’s going to “inject your soul with some sweet rock n’ roll and shoot you full of rhythm and blues” and call himself “churning urn of burning funk”, “a hefty hunk of steaming junk”, and a “napalm bomb just guaranteed to blow your mind”. Like, sorry bro, you are maybe the whitest person alive, you are not cut out for singing the blues. He’s just entirely toothless and so incredibly middle of the road. He’s like if cottage cheese was a singer.
Middle of the road music. So middle it makes you ache for more.
Background music? Goes by so quick, only one line from Fire and Rain caught me.
Personal opinion: 1/5 -1 Sappy -1 Country music -1 Americana -1 Too much “oh lord” and thick accent that is typically shared by people with strongly opposed political views to me Opinion with atheist and anti-American biases aside: 3/5 The record is well done and James Taylor is obviously talented. I would rather drive in silence than listen to this on a long roadtrip but I understand why it’s award-winning.
It didn't click with me that much. Neat to listen to for the piece of history at least
How does James Taylor write brilliant & deeply meaningful lyrics like "Fire & Ice" yet writes the juvenile "Steamroller." For every sophisticated production "Country Road" there's two trite tales of "Sunny Skies" & "Blossom." THe blues songs are nauseating and somewhat insulting. There's brilliance here but its only 3 or 4 songs, the rest is forgettable and poor effort.
Noget af det var ret catchy men altså, det var jo ikke noget særligt
Except for the inclusion of a few fun blues moments and, of course, the one song everyone knows… I might have zoned this completely out. I’m sure this really spoke to people in 1970, but I couldn’t connect to it this morning. “Steamroller”: love the blues but glad there’s a guitar on his lap hiding the boner. “Fire and Rain”: the hit. This was definitely a go to for creepy autistic guitar guys at parties in the 70’s. “… Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me”: another blues banger just to prove he can be Miracle Whip when he isn’t so determined to be regular ass Mayonnaise. “Suite for 20 G”: there was money for other musicians this whole time? We really did all that boring bedtime music just to finish the albums with drums and horns??? Borderline unforgivable.
Another country/folk singer songwriter on this list. Again. Granted, his voice is great, and the guitar works are not bad, too. It is still not my kind of music.
A lot of talk about Jesus. Was he so Vain? The album was alright, just not my thing.
Country folk... this list seems to really enjoy country folk. This one wasn't too bad but heavily plays into the country stereotype with its lyrics.
Average quality material about cowboys and that. He can play and sing , but says nothing interesting
Lovely voice but the material is generally weak.
this feels a little like a dish that's missing seasoning. its not bad and i could eat it, but it will be lacking that kick of spice. perhaps it would be more enjoyable if i was in a different mood. enjoyed steamroller blues the most bc well, blues.
My first reaction was disappointment and dread and that was proven to be the right expectation. Obviously I've heard the typical James Taylor songs but never really delved into his catalog. When a "cover" of Oh Susannah came on I thought it was a joke or it was going to someplace else, but no, it was just James Taylor singing about a banjo on his knee. Excruciating.
Very boring and he even did covers. What's the point?
Not bad but not really my cup of tea.
Boring
Ooooof. I feel so conflicted. This is NOT good but by jolly "Fire and Rain" is catchy as hell isn't it.
ähm, ja. singer/songwriter mit blueseinflüssen. geht so.
When he tries to step out of soft rock (whether it be blues like "Steamroller" or folk like "Oh Susannah), the results are pretty dire. As long as he's sticking to soft rock, it's fine enough, but mostly it makes me wish I had gotten Tapestry today instead. Oh well, at least this has "Fire and Rain", and Carole King playing piano.
Not bad but very samey and uninspiring. Pretty much every song is just soft vocals over acoustic guitar, which for me is not that interesting. 5/10
Honestly not a bad album, I didn't LOVE any songs but I didn't hate any either. My fav was Suite for 20 G
Not mine
Sap city bitch. Poor mans John Denver
way too pleasant and unoffensive
I really like a lot of the instrumentation, but his vocals are just like room temperature froyo. No thanks.
I'm glad this was quite a short album. It's pretty inoffensive stuff, but it's a style of music I can do without.
This is too wet for me.
Famously, my uncle, who listens to Alice in Chains, Tool, Nirvana etc. (typical Gen X rotation) said that if he could see one concert from any person at any time, it would be James Taylor. Something struck me so funny about this, that I’ve held onto that factoid forever. I thought “maybe he’s just trying to impress my aunt?” I don’t know why after a close to 30 year relationship, he’d be trying to score points by pretending to like a folk singer songwriter, but I digress. Maybe he was on to something? We’ll find out in the next hour or so. Solve a mystery for me, James (pronounced Ham-Es). Sweet Baby James - I hate cowboy songs but I’ll be damned if this wasn’t nice. Great job James. Not my favourite, but decent. Lo and Behold - I’m ashamed of myself, but I really liked this. This kind of song rides a razor thin line between great and completely unbearable. He did a great job here. If he even attempted to get really attitude-y, I’d probably be tearing Sunny Skies - Like how can this not be funny when put in the context of my opening paragraph? My Nova Scotian uncle who loves “Man in the Box” sitting front row at a church listening to Sunny Skies. This is a little too bubblegum for me. Let’s keep it moving. Steamroller - The least powerful blues man ever. This is like those YouTube videos where they do lounge covers of Cannobal Corpse songs. This has moments but it sleepily does feel like a parody of blues. Please never put horns in blues music ever again. Some doofus blowing the saxophone over an excellent guitar solo should be a crime. I don’t even really like guitar solos. Country Road - I initially made one of my classic typos, and wrote “Country Toad,” which I think we can all agree, is an adorable image. That is the only cowboy apparel I approve of. This is fading for me. My lighter is running out of butane, and the senior citizens behind us are falling asleep. Bring it up, James. Oh, Susannah - Oh, Susannah, you’re here. Uhhh well this was supposed to be a James Taylor concert, but I suppose you could play a song or two. What a rip. It was just another song about being southern. Not terrible. More likeable than the cosplay blues number. Fire and Rain - Boring, yet not offensive. The low buzz is cool. Blossom - Is this about that show? Just another middle of the road song. Anywhere Like Heaven - Um James? People do count the time. It’s called age. We keep pretty good track of that on this continent. Kind of ingrained in the culture at this point. Although in the loosey goosey 70’s who knows. I’m six orchids away from my Age of Enlightenment man. No, you’re a 31 year old car wash attendant from Boise. I like making stuff up. Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me - Don’t call yourself LoverMan JT. Nice blues attempt. I hate doubling up what I say and what I write, but he really does remind me of if they brought in a musician to do blues on Sesame Street. The description fits like a glove. Suite for 20 G - 20G?? And people are freaking out about 5G. Yeah this is riverboat music to the fullest extent. Maybe my uncle secretly dreams of the ol St. Louis to Nawlins authentic 1920’s riverboat steamship cruise adventure brought to you by Raising Cane’s Chicken. Well. This was fine wasn’t it? A nice soothing half an hour with the elder statesman of horn-based white guy blues. Most of this was wholly inoffensive and wouldn’t be out of place on in the background. I wouldn’t lunge at the aux “auxperator” in an attempt to silence this, but if you catch me putting this on for myself, call a neurologist. I hope my aunt and uncle are able to fulfill their dream and see James play a half empty church, but lord almighty, I think I’ll stay in that night. This album feels like tea. And much like tea, I’ll never seek it out, but it will sometimes do in a pinch. 2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Lo and Behold
Some good guitar playing, but overall too sickly sweet for me. And I really think he should keep his "sement-mixer" to himself!
I'm willing to bet that for people my age, all of their dads love this record. It's too sappy for me. Good guitar playing, but he's not exactly Paul Simon in that regard. Or as a lyricist. The thing about this album is that it's just...lame. Like there's nothing behind any of the songs that makes me want to like them. Fire and Rain is a good song, I've always liked that one but the rest? No thanks. 2/5
This album is often hailed as a cornerstone of the singer-songwriter movement, and it’s got some big name musicians contributing, which adds to its reputation. That said, I don’t quite get why it’s held in such high regard. To me, it feels like the most standard, run of the mill example of singer-songwriter music—pretty plain and unremarkable. At least it’s only about 30 minutes long, because if it had gone on any longer, I would have lost my mind, and gone crazy out of boredom.
I can't say it's objectively bad but it is bland and saccharine
I really wanted to like this but I just didn't. It was subpar, like nothing felt special or particularly talented. Sort of like the Elvis of country in a very bad way
James Taylor is weird. His guitar playing is great, his song writing can be good. But his voice is just too smooth, like it's too nice, there's no edge, I can hardly pick out any emotion from it. Some of it kinda works, but when he goes into his, I guess, seduction tracks it's like: what is this? Some kid at school who's never talked to a woman trying to copy the bigger kids but having no idea what he's saying. "I'm a steamroller baby" jeez. On that note he does love to drop a G-bomb every couple of tracks and I get bored of religious stuff quickly.
Pleasant enough background country rock. Prefer the more bluesy tracks, but don't particularly dislike any of it. That said, I wouldn't choose to listen to it again.
Ok
There are a few good (Fire and Rain) to excellent (Sweet Baby James) on here. Threes probably some deep psychological issue here, but a lot of the other ones make me want to jump off a bridge.
Pleasant but dull. Like a lot of people I know!!!
Just not a fan of this style of country/folk. My favourite track was Steamroller - the only blues rock style song. The rest I didn’t enjoy.
This is fine. It's pretty saccharine and doesn't feel very authentic. But the guitar playing is good.
This is definitely not an album for me. Boringly sweet with less bite than a 98 year old who has lost his dentures. It's not a bad album, it's just not something I would ever choose to listen to.
Een beetje saaiig album? het houd het midden tussen country en folk, maar eigenlijk leunt het voor mij iets meer naar Folk. Ik had eerlijk gezegd best een beetje zin in een lekker fout countryalbumpie, maar dat zit er dus niet echt in. Maar ja, dit is dus echt vrij gezapige, saaie muziek. het duurt gelukkig ook maar een half uur, maar zelfs in die tijd dacht ik continue verlangend aan de muziek die ik hierna zou luisteren... 1001 Albums, je hebt het weer gedaan; een album wat zo zaaddodend is dat ik bijna punk rock begin te missen! FAVO: Blossom
This is nice music, but it's a bit... Well... boring. It's all in the same tone. Perfect background music for generic US rom-com about country bumpkins. Bit too jesus-ey for me too.
Dull
Music for people who say they don't have sex, they make love. Gross.
This is pretty middle of the road and meh. Just don't care about James Taylor at all. It's fine, but man it's not something I would want to listen to while floating in space.
Sweet Baby Inc detected. Soft, inoffensive, can't imagine anyone choosing this over anything else
+1 star just because of the steamroller song
I finally get it. This must be what folk sounds like to people who hate folk. This is so…nothing. It’s like a dry musty fart in an attic. And then the smell of Steam Roller Blues hits in what might be the most embarrassing song I’ve heard on this list yet. Truly a triumph in sucking.
First time listening. Ok. Maybe not quite my preferred genre.
Not sure who the target audience is for this but I don’t think it’s me. At least it was only 31 minutes!
I like “fire and rain” and I think his voice is pleasant. Here he uses it in service of an incredibly boring album. I’m not sure when I would ever listen to this. Not sure what mood this sets.
Fire and Rain is still pretty good. But that’s about it for me. It’s very pretty, if this is your thing. There’s a lot of honky tonk, white boy blues, slide guitar and Americana. Suite for 20G sounds like Carol King wrote it for him, but I still don’t like it. This is just meh, for me.
There's a few hidden gems here and there, but overall, it is the same folk nonsense that I've already grown tired of after hearing Bob Dylan. The only difference here is that James Taylor does have a nice singing voice.
Country isn't going to be my jam. Too much Jesus, not enough movement. The saving grace from the 1 is the occasional talk of loneliness and addiction. It looked like it was going to pick up momentum on the last song, but then the album was over.
singer songwriter LEAVE ME ALONE
this made me feel like i was on sesame street not crazy about the blues tracks, giving white guy plays the blues vibes. more folk centric stuff was nice, but song writing didn’t feel strong enough to blow me away, with a few exceptions. his voice is sorta bland. the blues and god shit really drags it down. 4.5/10
Not bad just pretty boring.
too sweet and too sugary for me. but I can see why many people love this album! very decent but probably just not my style. "lo and behold" is prob my favourite. would love to hear it as a soundtrack to some detective movie
1. jamez - 1.5 2. behold - 1 3. zunny - 1 4. zteam - 1.5 5. country - 1.5 6. zuzanah - 1.5 7. fire - 2 8. blozzom - 1.5 9. heaven - 1 10. baby - 2 11. zuite - 1
Nice and easy. Reading the reviews, I see the 90s babies hate it with a passion. That’s ok, I hate the gear-grinding white noise they call music. Having said that, Sweet Baby James is a bit meh, so 2.
Sure you have “Fire and Rain” but all the other tracks basically sound the same. Taylor’s voice is nice but the music puts me to sleep. 2/5
Мы поняли, тебе одиноко. Кантри стайл
I expected to like this a lot more. James Taylor has always been a blind spot for me in a genre I usually love. I found this pretty boring and cheesy.
OK.
James "Steamroller" Taylor brings it on this one, bro. Laurel Canyon's own "Mr. Excitement" drops eleven tracks ready-made for the grocery store, elevator, or dentist's office. Give him a half-star for inventing a system for tuning the guitar that compensates for the vagaries of the instrument that prevent mathematical perfection. Try it. It works!
Hypnotically white
MOR. Music for people who have given up on excitement and wear slippers and socks.
Bof. C'est souvent joli, mais pas vraiment mémorable. Vibe typique folk-rock années 70, ce disque a sans doute eu beaucoup d'influence sur beaucoup d'artistes, mais aujourd'hui c'est un peu beige. C'est probable que je n'écouterai plus jamais ça. Ce qui irrite, c'est qu'il y a tellement d'autre musique qui pourrait être inclue dans cette liste à la place de ce type de disque, mais ça nécessiterait d'aller au-delà de la culture anglo-saxonne qui domine outrageusement ici.
Nah
Very much not my thing, couldn’t make it through the first track on my first go, but listened through on a different day and can appreciate it might be good if it is your thing.
Really middle of the road stuff. Couldn’t get into it at all
Sweet baby James Bit too tame different styles tried blues, folk and southern fried His voice nice music paying price not amazed just a bit dazed
Was ready to dismiss this as I don't like country, but Steamroller had some nice blues/brass.
UgH. Oh God! Is there a greater. more self-important, overated muslin out there?!?!? Damn that a tool. sorry - not. a. fan.
Vähän sais olla rouheenpaa, alun bluesimpi ote vihjaili siihen. Oh, Susannahin balladisointi noin on ihan tyhmää, ei sen kuulu olla kaihoinen biisi. Menee hyvin tunnelmapalana illan hämärtyessä, tietyssä mielentilassa imelyyskin voi toimia. Mutta pelkään, ettei biiseissä ole tarpeeksi kerroksia.
Standardisoitu Dylan - täydellinen ajankuva. Nautin paikoin levyn sisältämästä musiikista.
You're so James
Boring. Next.
The softer singer-songwriter stuff is nice, although somewhat sentimental. The attempts at blues are quite awkward.
It was ok. Not big on folk music Will I listen to again: 2%
all of the songs on this literally sound the same. even the lyrics.
Not for me
Classic douchebag + guitar music
Bland. 2/5
This album doesn't sound bad at all. That's not the issue. The issue is that it sounds utterly and all-around unremarkable. Just pure background filler. A wide range of styles also doesn't mean all that much if all of them are performed in a milquetoast manner. Ironically, Suite for 20 G was the only engaging track.
Cant really say any of the tracks grabbed me
Fire and Rain is one of the greatest songs ever written. Full Stop. The rest is great- songwriting is incredible. I’m just in the wrong frame of mind so I’ll say 2.5
Probably would give this album a miss in the future
p216. 1970. 2 stars. The source of an entire generation of 1970s male middle of the road singer/songwriters. There are a handful of standout songs (Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain) and decent guitar picking, but it lacks any sense of excitement and there is a LOT of bland filler. On the plus side, it's short.
2 out of 5. Fire and Rain was the standout song for me on this album, but it was otherwise a little uninteresting as a whole.
mid af
Pleasant soft rock, almost too sweet
I dont know not a big folksy guy
Steamroller is a surprise. The other stuff is good. It’s just background music.
Okay for background music at work but wouldn't listen again.
Lost a star for that weak a$$ Steamroller Blues. Sing the blues if you're gonna sing the blues. Other stuff is pretty nice tho.
Is this really music? Is like poetry with slight musical accompaniment. I couldn't listen to this back in the day, and I thought maybe I could now, since I became able to listen to Dylan and Neil Young. But sigh, no. I'll give 2 stars to avoid getting hate.
Ok in the background, nice enough voice, but a bit too country and a bit too sickly sweet for.my taste
One of the cousins had a kid named James, and he was always referred to as Sweet Baby James... literally ALL THE TIME, to the point of "was this a joke?" I still don't get it.
Meh.
Short and unremarkable.
Just a bit boring. There were a few moment where I could maybe see why it was on this list, but mostly this album didn’t really speak to me. Highlights: Fire and Rain
“you said you never met one girl who had as many james taylor records as you but i do” - taylor swift in begin again but wtf taylor because this was not worthy enough to own on record
i love this kind of sound but holy fuck this shit was so boring i felt myself losing it from track one i am going to set myself on fire and pray it doesn't rain (YES THAT TRACK WAS CHEEKS TOO) if i have to listen to this for one second longer i am on track three as i am typing this i am so sick of this i hate his voice oh my fod what is he evn saying oh my god please shut uuuuupppppppppp i was enjoying this song i was like okkkaaayyyy finally something musically interesting but eventually i reached: steamroller blues is absolutely vile holy fuck what is he SAYING I A, GPOGN TVNONNOJAEVNVJNABGENJOAEFVLJKNEAFVLJNEFVANJAVEFJNNOVEJONTEVAUNOTNOUGNOUOINTVEONTBGOHJBETAEAJBTHJBEGOHBGEAJOBEGJAOJGABEJAEGJAGBEJGOBIAEBGJOIEAJIOBEGAJIOBETGIJOTEJIOGBEAJBGIEOABIJOEGAIJOEGBAIJOBGAE 1001. albums to hear before you die ???????????. this album asks the question: what about 1 album that will make you want to die when you hear it? is there anything worse than a singer-songwriter who can't sing or songwrite???? what the fuck are you good for james? exactly! i want to give this a 1 so bad like literally so bad but i feel like its not horrifying enough to be a 1 so imagine the 2 is a 1.5 or like a 1.1 i listened to the whole thing and all i will say is i doubt i will return to this album again and give it a second chance because it was so boring 'Anywhere Like Heaven' was actually alright though. 1-1.5/5
boring
Forgettable, bland and not something I would return too.
Relatively pleasant, but sex steamroller aside I don't know if I could tell you about anything I just listened to. Washes over you in a loose, ineffective way, regardless of content. Not a bad thing... just barely a thing at all.
Why is everyone complaining about how too sweet it is? It's freaking bland af. All the sugar in it tasted artificial.
Sweet Baby James really laying on the sweet with this one, I don't like the album title or the cover art. I felt like I was in Mr.Rogers' Neighborhood in a way that this might be fine for a specific age group but I am definitely not it. It felt hokey, tepid, and overall weak. There's a few classics on here but even those are just ok. People talk about James Taylor as if he's some Americana Folk God but he doesn't feel genuine and deep enough to me. This deserves to be off the 1001 list for "Steamroller Blues" alone, don't even get me started on "Oh, Susannah." The more I write this review the more I'm disliking the album... ::a hefty hunk of steaming junk:: jingles in the background.
Pretty sappy and much too sweet baby. A few knowns that are ok but it's mostly milktoast blues and watered down r&b. Was he doing something on this album that deserves the list? Very missable IMO but not the worst thus far...1.7.
James Taylor was able to build a career off of a handful of quick acoustical folk songs. He has a certain sound that obviously scratches the itch for a lot of people (pre-millenial 40 year house wives?). Sweet Baby James is firmly is his wheelhouse as his debut that quickly made him a household name. Every James Taylor song sounds the same to me and Sweet Baby James is no different. It's firmly "average" in almost every way. It's not my personal cup of tea but it's also not bad and at 30 minutes there are worse choices. I guess credit where credit is due. 2.4 stars
While I heard and liked the classics during the early 70s, I also remember when the album JT came out later and really soured on his style. Listening to this album for the first time, I am not really impressed by the somewhat saccharine vibe. And even the classics seem less engaging, as if they're shortchanged. While I am very sad that he had to suffer the personal travails that plagued him, I can't engage musically. Things generally seem incomplete, embodied perhaps by Suite for 20 G, which the internet tells me was three fragments strung together.
Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James and Country Road are great. The rest of the songs weren’t bad, they just suffered in comparison to the great ones.
Wow, this is putting me to sleep. Steamroller is so bad, it feels like he lost a bet, or something. The nerve of him recording Oh, Susannah. Who said that was a good idea? Fire and Rain is still pretty good. But that’s about it for me. It’s very pretty, if this is your thing. There’s a lot of honky tonk, white boy blues, slide guitar and Americana. Suite for 20G sounds like Carol King wrote it for him, but I still don’t like it. This is just meh, for me.
Somewhere between 2 and 3. It was perfectly pleasant and all, but I also had a hard time caring about it the majority of the time. A few nice tracks.
Not a big fan of this at all. Singer songwriter with country leanings is my kryptonite
Really really not my thing
I'll give it to James Taylor that his songwriting is on point and at times creative. But the thick layer of soft rock radio plastered over everything is too much for me to take.
Musicality is too few and far between to make this an interesting listen. Mostly its a just a soft rock slog.
This wasn’t the worst but nothing too exciting. Thankfully it was mercifully short- not as good as like Simon and Garfunkel or Bob Dylan but not terrible
First off I get Carole King without the tunes vibe. All very pleasant but not grabbing me really in any way. Later, some of the softest, must unconvincing blues I've ever heard. The brass really rescues Steamroller when it comes in halfway through. I'm not that familiar with the original ring a ding ding version of Oh Susannah but I feel offended on it's behalf, this version sounds like it's been castrated. Kinda like a 70s David Gray? Sure does go on about rock and roll a lot for something that neither rocks nor rolls. Suite for 20G might have been ok in isolation but I was so sick of it by then I only enjoyed it a little.
Eigentlich ganz schön. Ist aber so was von 1970-Schnulze, dass man es heute nicht mehr hören mag
I don’t like country but this was listenable But it does get boring Sometimes it sounded like it could be in Better Call Saul so that was good 2.5
Most of it is boring. Towards the end there's some better songs, but the performance is still boring. I don't think I'll ever play this record again. Favorite song: Blossom.
#186. REM, and then James Taylor back to back? Fuck me, right? Al Gore's rhythm seems to be out to get me. I've heard some of his songs before, but for obvious reasons never listened to a whole album before. It's exactly as I assumed it would be though. About as good as any one of his singles, just more. 2/5: James Taylor just seems to me like a less pretentious, but also less good Neil Young or something.
+1 point for his warm voice, and for the nostalgia and how folk sooths Boomers. +1 point for the cellos in a country rock song (fire and rain) -1 point for silly use of stereo for the guitars L&R and then rounding up to 2, as I dont hate it, its not offensive or horrible, its ok, I just dont love it. But I wont listen again.... hence sub 3
meh
Sure grandpa, let's get you to bed.
One of the reason why most people thinks country music sucks
I have nothing to say about this one.
I could've lived without ever hearing this album and will never voluntarily listen to it again. 2 stars instead of 1 because he can definitely sing.
An extra star for comedy lyrics in Steamroller. Otherwise sugary rubbish
OK boomer blues and folksy pop.
My previous knowledge of James Taylor is that Taylor Swift likes him
1.6
folkcountryrollo.
His voice is good, but it's just another country album among all the others around the list. No novelty.
the eyebrows.....
This is likely the greatest folk music you will ever hear. But it’s still folk.
Not a big fan of this. James' voice isn't interesting enough to carry the simple melodies and lack of rhythm. Fire and rain was good but not much else worth a relisten.
folkcountryrollo.
As far as cheesy singer/songwriter albums go this was not too bad. I love Fire and Rain, even with the heavy handedness present here and in the rest of the songs.
Niet voor mij
Not my style. James Taylor is technically proficient though
A little too folk-sy americana for me. The couple of blues songs were a nice change of pace. No really my jam overall
Taylor looks about as pissed off at having to sing this saccharine bullshit as I am listening to it. Steamroller Blues is apparently parody, which I guess does come across but it comes immediately after a song where Taylor seems to sing about a personification of the fucking sky completely unironically. Or perhaps it’s all irony. Oops! All Irony! I don’t vibe with this at all. It’s very whitebread, very clean cut American Boomer music. Most people who are giving this positive reviews seem to refer to it as the musical equivalent to comfort food. If this is comfort food, it’s processed American instant Mac n Cheese, an approximation of good home-cooked food that takes up less of the time, but provides a lesser experience. Give me the quiet melancholy of Jackson Browne or the tortured spiritualism of Leonard Cohen over this any day. With them you know where you stand, you know when things are ironic, you know when they’re sincere, and none of it is twee, like Taylor is. The only high spot is Fire and Rain, where the emotions don’t get muddled, it’s straightforward and not sickly sweet. But Jackson Browne would have done a much better version of it, both performance-wise and lyrically. I think Taylor includes too much simplicity, and in this genre, there needs to be a balance.
See previous album comment
This is very close to a one star, but the more America-like moments (the band America, I mean) keep it above the water for me, and the final song is at least something different, actually feeling like that "rock" and "funk" he was talking so much about earlier on the album. But those country tracks, and especially those blues tracks? Man, those SUCKED. Just hanging on by a thread, but can't in good faith give it a one.
just dreadfully boring
Boring, Christian, hillbilly, boomer music. Some catchy tunes and nice melodies, but overall not my vibe at all. Uninteresting. Fav songs: sweet baby james
A bit of a drag but short enough.
James Taylor’s got a soothing voice so I can see why his music would appeal to people - it appeals to me sometimes. But it’s mostly pretty bland and these songs don’t seem like anything special.
Vähän jäi taas ”yleisfolkin” tasolle 2/5
Meh. Didn't hate it but not likely to be coming back